At the UFC 298 pre-fight press conference, Ilia Topuria tried to provoke Alexander Volkanovski with trash talk and even snatched his belt, but Volkanovski, who was dressed like an old man as a joke about his age, remained unfazed and brushed off the attempts.
Ilia Topuria tried his best to ruffle Alexander Volkanovski’s feathers at the UFC 298 pre-fight presser. His efforts, though, seemed to fall flat. And no, it wasn’t because the featherweight champ was dressed as if he needed a hearing aid.
Volkanovski played up the age narrative at the conference in Anaheim, California. He came out on stage dressed like a grandpa, complete with a cardigan, bifocal glasses with a chain, and a newsboy cap.
He said he was just having some fun. The champ has been facing questions about his legitimacy due to his age, 35. This age is often seen as the cutoff for success in smaller weight classes.
“Just having a bit of fun with it,” he said. “You’ve got to do it, for the people as well. Everyone appreciated the outfit, so I wanted to do it in person.”
Topuria, however, didn’t seem to be in on the joke. He was all business. Unfortunately for him, much of his speech was drowned out by boos from the crowd. This led to him lashing out at the audience before turning his attention back to Volkanovski.
“Shut the f*** up! Shut up,” Topuria shouted. “You see how you can dress? You already know what’s going to happen. You just came ready for your retirement. Look how you look as an old man.”
Topuria continued to verbally attack Volkanovski. The reigning UFC featherweight champ, however, refused to engage in the trash talk. When that didn’t work, Topuria grabbed the UFC belt in front of Volkanovski, which finally got him to stand up.
“Stand up and do something,” Topuria said. “Humble me. I’m right here in front of you. Do something.”
The belt was eventually returned to Volkanovski. Even after the brief altercation, he brushed it off and delivered a message to Topuria.
“You might as well take advantage of it now,” Volkanovski told Topuria. “You’re never going to see it again. Not until I teach you a lesson. Maybe one day you can be a great champion. I’m going to kick your ass first, you’ll learn your lesson, and maybe you can bounce back after that.
“Until then, get your hands off my belt.”
Topuria’s belt-stealing act was straight out of Conor McGregor’s playbook. The Irish star did the same to Jose Aldo before their UFC featherweight title fight. Aldo, unlike Volkanovski, was furious and tried to confront McGregor.
Volkanovski didn’t even lunge for the belt when Topuria took it. He just laughed off the situation and even pretended to fall asleep while Topuria was talking.
“Conor McGregor wannabe huh? How about this bloke?” Volkanovski said. “I think this old man needs to teach this young fella a lesson.”
Despite the tension, the UFC 298 fighters faced off on stage without incident. They even shared a handshake before parting ways.
The talking is almost over. Volkanovski is preparing to defend his featherweight title for the sixth time. This puts him just one defense away from tying Aldo’s all-time record at 145 pounds.